The present invention relates to method and apparatus for taping components. The invention relates to component taping method and apparatus for taping components in such a way that the components are formed into continuous taped components, at least by using a component holder in which a multiplicity of component storages for storing components are provided longitudinally so as to be opened over one surface, and by storing and holding the components one by one in the individual component storages of the component holder.
This type of taping is applied, for example, to automatic feed of components in producing electronic circuit boards by mounting a multiplicity of, and a variety of, types of minute electronic components onto circuit boards. With components taped, it becomes easy to achieve the automatic feed of stored components to a specified position for use in the succeeding stage with high speed and high reliability, by conveying the taped components along their longitudinal direction, even if minute and numerous components are involved.
The component holder is designed to have a width matching the type of components. For automatically taping the components by using this component holder, the component taping apparatus treats the components, in most cases, in a way so that the component holder is automatically conveyed while being guided along a specified path, so that the components are made available for storage to the individual storages.
Guide or conveyor means of the component taping apparatus, if mismatched to the width of the component holder, would be unable to achieve a precision conveyance matching the minute components, causing mis-storage of components. Thus, a guide mechanism xe2x80x9caxe2x80x9d and a conveyance mechanism xe2x80x9cbxe2x80x9d as shown in FIG. 18 have conventionally been used. In the guide mechanism xe2x80x9caxe2x80x9d, right-and-left guides xe2x80x9cpxe2x80x9d are attached on a right-and-left pair of support walls xe2x80x9ccxe2x80x9d, and right-and-left edges xe2x80x9cexe2x80x9d of a component holder xe2x80x9cdxe2x80x9d are placed on stepped-down surfaces xe2x80x9cp1xe2x80x9d of this right-and-left pair of guides xe2x80x9cpxe2x80x9d, respectively, so that the component holder xe2x80x9cdxe2x80x9d is guided so as to be conveyed along a specified direction at a specified height. In the conveyance mechanism xe2x80x9cbxe2x80x9d, a right-and-left pair of sprockets xe2x80x9cgxe2x80x9d are fitted to feed holes xe2x80x9cfxe2x80x9d provided at the right-and-left edges xe2x80x9cexe2x80x9d of the guided component holder xe2x80x9cdxe2x80x9d so as to convey the component holder xe2x80x9cdxe2x80x9d along the guides xe2x80x9cpxe2x80x9d. These sprockets xe2x80x9cgxe2x80x9d are provided in the front and rear of the conveyance direction and driven by transmission of power from a drive motor xe2x80x9chxe2x80x9d.
Both right and left sprockets xe2x80x9cgxe2x80x9d on the upstream side of the conveyance direction are supported by a spline shaft xe2x80x9cjxe2x80x9d transversely provided on a base xe2x80x9cixe2x80x9d, so that those sprockets xe2x80x9cgxe2x80x9d are axially movable and integrally rotatable. Both right and left sprockets xe2x80x9cgxe2x80x9d on the downstream side of the conveyance direction are supported by another spline shaft xe2x80x9ckxe2x80x9d transversely provided on the base xe2x80x9cixe2x80x9d, so that those sprockets xe2x80x9cgxe2x80x9d are axially movable and integrally rotatable.
Also, the right-hand sprockets xe2x80x9cgxe2x80x9d are fitted to the right-hand support wall xe2x80x9ccxe2x80x9d so as to be axially and integrally movable in the axial direction of the sprocket and singly rotatable, while the left-hand sprockets xe2x80x9cgxe2x80x9d are fitted to the left-hand support wall xe2x80x9ccxe2x80x9d so as to be axially and integrally movable in the axial direction of the sprocket and singly rotatable. Screw shafts xe2x80x9cmxe2x80x9d transversely provided on the base xe2x80x9cixe2x80x9d are screwed to the right-and-left support walls xe2x80x9ccxe2x80x9d on their upstream and downstream sides in the conveyance direction. The screws are reverse directed between a portion of each screw shaft xe2x80x9cmxe2x80x9d screwed to the right-hand support wall xe2x80x9ccxe2x80x9d and another portion screwed to the left-hand support wall xe2x80x9ccxe2x80x9d, where a handle xe2x80x9cnxe2x80x9d coupled to one screw shaft xe2x80x9cmxe2x80x9d is provided while the screw shafts xe2x80x9cmxe2x80x9d are coupled to each other with a belt xe2x80x9cOxe2x80x9d.
Rotating the screw shafts xe2x80x9cmxe2x80x9d forward or reverse by operation of the handle xe2x80x9cnxe2x80x9d causes the right-and-left support walls xe2x80x9ccxe2x80x9d to be moved away from or closer to each other by the reversed screws so that the spacing therebetween is expanded or contracted. By this operation, the spacing between the right-and-left guides xe2x80x9cpxe2x80x9d as well as the spacing between the right-and-left sprockets xe2x80x9cgxe2x80x9d can be adjusted so as to match the widths of various types of the component holder xe2x80x9cdxe2x80x9d involved case by case, so that the component holder xe2x80x9cdxe2x80x9d can be guided and conveyed with high precision and therefore made available for the storing of components with stability.
On the other hand, the present applicant has previously proposed a component holder that prevents components stored in the component storages from falling out, and that allows the components to be stably held in the storage state and treated without cover tape which has conventionally been used for the component holder (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 6-156562). In this case, each component storage of the component holder is provided with engaging pieces which are projected in the opening of the component storage so as to prevent the component stored in the component storage from falling off. The engaging pieces are molded integrally with the component storage and elastically deformable. When components are stored in the component storages, the engaging pieces are forcedly operated to be retreated out of the opening of the component storages. Therefore, the engaging pieces will not hinder the components from being stored in the component storages, and will be restored to their original positions and closed when released from the retreating operation after the storing of the components. Thus, the components stored in the component storages are engagedly fitted to the component storages in the stored state, and prevented from falling out.
However, in the conventional component taping apparatus shown in FIG. 18, the spacing between the guides xe2x80x9cpxe2x80x9d as well as the spacing between the sprockets xe2x80x9cgxe2x80x9d can be freely adjusted. However, there are no marks for matching the spacings to the width of the component holder xe2x80x9cdxe2x80x9d involved case by case so that a correct matching can hardly be achieved. As a result, the spacing adjustment would take longer time through iterated operations during ontrial conveyance of the component holder xe2x80x9cdxe2x80x9d or other processes, and the guidance and conveyance of the component holder xe2x80x9cdxe2x80x9d would in some rasps become unstable, causing mis-storage or mis-holding of components. Besides, the guide mechanism xe2x80x9caxe2x80x9d and the conveyance mechanism xe2x80x9cbxe2x80x9d are wholly given in a unit form, resulting in complex structure and high cost.
Also, the engaging pieces of the component holder previously proposed by the present applicant are operated to be retreated both when components are stored in the component storages and when components used for the feeding of components in the form of taped components in which the components are stored in the individual component storages of the component holder are taken out. However, the engaging pieces will lower by the force of restoration to the closed state due to a creeping phenomenon or the like during iterated use of the component holder, so that the holding of components becomes unstable in some cases, causing mis-storage and mis-holding of components.
An object of the present invention is to provide a component taping method and apparatus which are unlikely to cause such mis-storage and mis-holding of components, as well as to solve the aforementioned various problems.
In accomplishing these and other aspects, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a component taping method comprising handling a component holder by winding the component holder around a reel, in which the component holder has a multiplicity of component storages (i.e., storage compartments) provided longitudinally and has an opening on one surface. Each of the component storages stores a component therein, and has a shutter which becomes stable both at a projectional position where the shutter is projected into the opening to thereby prevent the component from falling off, and at a retreat position where the shutter is retreated from the projectional position. The shutter is moved between the two positions by a more than certain level of urging force. The component holder is reeled out from the reel so that the openings of the component storages of the component holder are directed upward. The components are placed into the component storages reeled out and directed upward with the shutter stably in the retreat position. The shutter of each component storage in which the component has been stored is moved to the projectional position and then closed. Then the components are taped one after another so that the components are formed into continuous taped components, and the taped components are wound around the reel.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a component taping apparatus comprising a conveyor device and a shutter closing device.
The conveyor device longitudinally conveys a component holder with openings of component storages of the component holder directed upward so that components are made available for storage at an intermediate component-storage working position. The component holder has the multiplicity of component storages provided longitudinally and has the openings on one individual surface. Each of the component storages serves for storing a component therein and has a shutter which becomes stable both at a projectional position where the shutter is projected into the opening to thereby prevent the components from falling off, and at a retreat position where the shutter is retreated from the projectional position, and the shutter is moved between the two positions by a more than a certain level of urging force.
The shutter closing device moves the shutter of each component storage of the component holder from the retreat position to the projectional position, on a downstream side of the component-storage working position and thereby closes the shutter.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the component taping apparatus according to the second aspect, further comprising a shutter opening device for moving the shutter located in the projectional position in each component storage of the component holder on an upstream side of the component-storage working position to the retreat position, and thereby opening the shutter.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the component taping apparatus according to any one of the second and third aspects, further comprising between the component-storage working position and the shutter closing position an incomplete-storage sensor and a control means. The incomplete-storage sensor for detects an incomplete-storage state of the component stored in each component storage, and the control means stops the conveyor device when an incomplete-storage signal derived from the incomplete-storage sensor is present.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the component taping apparatus according to the fourth aspect, further comprising a component sensor between the component-storage working position and the shutter closing position. The component sensor detects whether or not a stored component is present in each component storage. The control means then stops the conveyor device when at least one of the incomplete-storage signal and a non-storage signal derived from the incomplete-storage sensor and the component sensor is present.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a component taping apparatus comprising a pair of guide members, a conveyor device, a support member, a positioning and holding device, and a linkage device.
The pair of guide members is provided for longitudinally guiding a component holder, in which a multiplicity of component storages for storing components therein are provided longitudinally and having openings on individual one surface, in a state such that the openings of the component storages are directed upward on both sides of the component holder. The conveyor device conveys the component holder along the guide members while a right-and-left pair of sprockets are engaged with feed holes on both sides of the component holder guided by the guide members so that the components are made available for storage at an intermediate componentstorage working position. The support member supports the pair of guide members so that the guide members can be moved individually to a plurality of particular positions corresponding to widths of component holders involved case by case. The positioning and holding device is provided for positioning and holding each of the pair of guide members at a required one of the particular positions involved case by case by selectively using one of the positioning portions independently provided at the plurality of particular positions on the support member. The linkage device is provided for moving one of the pair of sprockets in linkage with movement of a corresponding one of the pair of guide members.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided the component taping apparatus according to the sixth aspect, further comprising a feed reel, a wind-up reel, and a reel flange-positioning device.
The feed reel is provided for reeling out and feeding the component holder to the conveyor device. The wind-up reel winds up the taped components which are conveyed up by the conveyor device and which have been stored in the component storages, and each of the feed reel and the wind-up reel has a reel flange that can be moved axially on a rotating shaft. The reel flange-positioning device elastically engages the reel flange in the plurality of particular positions corresponding to the widths of the component holders involved case by case on the rotating shaft of each of the reels, and thereby engagedly fixes the reel flange.
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the component taping apparatus according to any one of the second through seventh aspects, further comprising a setting device and a control means. The setting device sets a one-time feed number of component storages to be made available for component storage at a one-time stop by intermittently conveying the component holder by the conveyor device. The control means drives the conveyor device in steps of a pitch corresponding to the one-time feed number of component storages set by the setting device in response to each-time conveyance of the component holder.
According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the component taping apparatus according to the eighth aspect, wherein the control means has such a function that when the number of component storages equipped in the component holder is indivisible by the set one-time feed number of component storages, the conveyor device is driven at last-time conveyance of the component holder by a pitch corresponding to the indivisible odd number of component storages.
According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the component taping apparatus according to any one of the second through eighth aspects, wherein the component holder has holder units. Each of the holder units is made of synthetic resin having flexibility and comprises the component storage having an opening over one face so as to allow the component to be stored, and a flange integrally molded around the opening. Coupling holes are provided right and left of one of the front and rear edges formed by the flange, and hooks are provided right and left of the other of the front and rear edges, both by integral molding. When the holder units are arrayed front and rear, adjacent corresponding coupling hole and hook are opposed up and down and fitted to each other in an anti-disengaging state so that adjacent holder units are coupled to each other, thus forming the component holder.
With this constitution, the component holder having the multiplicity of component storages in the longitudinal direction is reeled out from the reel and conveyed longitudinally, handled without disturbances, in which operation the openings of the individual component storages reeled out from the reel and conveyed are directed upward. Therefore, if the shutters are in the retreat position, i.e., if the component holder is unused with all the shutters opened in the retreat positions, then the shutters may remain as they are. On the other hand, if the component holder is reused with the shutters in the projectional positions, then the shutters are moved to the retreat positions so as to be opened, in whichever state the components can be stored, and stabilized one by one in the component storages on the way of conveyance. Further, for the component storages after they have stored the components, because their shutters are moved to the projectional positions, forcedly closed, without relying on their restoring force, the components stored in the component storages are engagedly held in their stored state without being affected by changes in the restoring force with which the shutters are restored to the closed state or other occurrences. Thus, the components can be taped one by one into a state such that once stored components can reliably be prevented from falling out. Moreover, since the taped components after the taping are wound around the reel, the components become easy to handle afterwards and, what is more, it becomes more likely to avoid such a possibility that the shutters are unexpectedly moved to the retreat positions under some external force during various types of handling before the feeding of components so that the components may fall off or come to a falling-off state. For this purpose, it is further preferable that the components are wound around the reel in such a fashion that the shutters come to the rear side of the reel. With these arrangements, from a time point when the components are stored in the component storages until another time point when the components are made available for the feeding of components, there can be eliminated or reduced possibilities of mis-storage and mis-holding of components, i.e., possibilities that some components have not been stored and that components, if stored, are in an unholdable state.
As the apparatus for taping components by using the component holder, it is possible to provide the component taping apparatus comprising the conveyor device for longitudinally conveying the component holder with the openings of the component storages of the component holder directed upward so that components are made available for storage at the intermediate component-storage working position, and the shutter closing device for moving the shutter of each component storage of the component holder from the retreat position to the projectional position, on the downstream side of the component-storage working position, and thereby closing the shutter. With this component taping apparatus, a taping performance which is reliable in component holding without relying on the restoring force of the shutter and which is unlikely to cause mis-storage or mis-holding of components can be automatically achieved.
It is also possible to provide the component taping apparatus further comprising the shutter opening device for moving the shutter located in the projectional position in each component storage of the component holder on an upstream side of the component-storage working position to the retreat position, and thereby opening the shutter. With this component taping apparatus, even if the component holder is reused so that some shutter has been moved to the projectional position, the shutter is moved to the retreat position and opened before the component is stored in the component storage, so as not to disturb the storing of component, thus preventing occurrences of mis-storage and mis-holding of components.
In the component taping apparatus, it is also possible to provide the reel on which the component holder is wound up for use of conveyance of the component holder, and the reel for winding up the taped components after the taping. Then, the component taping apparatus is enabled to automatically achieve the aforementioned component taping method.
It is also possible to provide the component taping apparatus further comprising between the component-storage working position and the shutter closing position: the incomplete-storage sensor for detecting the incomplete-storage state of the component stored in each component storage; the component sensor for detecting whether or not the stored component is present in each component storage; and the control means for stopping the conveyor device when at least one of the incomplete-storage signal and the non-storage signal derived from the incomplete-storage sensor and the component sensor is present. With this component taping apparatus, even after the passage of each component storage over the component-storage working position, if either an incomplete-storage state in which a component is incompletely stored in the component storage, floated or partly projected, or a non-storage state in which a component is not stored has occurred due to some reason, the incompletestorage sensor or the non-storage sensor detects one of those states before the component storage reaches the shutter closing position. If at least one of the incomplete-storage signal and the non-storage signal is present, the control means stops the conveyor device. Therefore, taking advantage of the fact that the shutter is opened in the retreat position in the component storage that has been detected for the incomplete storage or non-storage, measures can be taken such as putting the incompletely stored component into a specified stored state or storing the non-stored component. Moreover, there can be prevented such possibilities that, with the component floated or partly projected, the shutter is moved to the projectional position and resultantly damaged, or that the component is popped out or the popped-out component bites into the parts of the apparatus, causing trouble.
Also, the taping apparatus for taping components by using the component holder in which the multiplicity of component storages for storing components therein are provided longitudinally and have the opening on one surface comprises: the pair, of guide members for longitudinally guiding the component holder in a state in which the openings of the component storages are directed upward on both right-and-left sides of the component holder; the conveyor device for conveying the component holder along the guide members while a right-and-left pair of sprockets are engaged with feed holes on both sides of the component holder guided by the guide members so that the components are made available for storage at the intermediate componentstorage working position; the support member for supporting the pair of guide members so that the guide members can be moved individually to a plurality of particular positions corresponding to widths of component holders involved case by case; the positioning and holding device for positioning and holding each of the pair of guide members to a required one of the particular positions involved case by case by selectively using one of positioning portions independently provided at the plurality of particular positions on the support member; and the linkage device for moving one of the pair of sprockets in linkage with movement of the corresponding one of the pair of guide members.
With this constitution, in the operation that while the component holder is longitudinally guided by the guide members and conveyed by the conveyor device, the components are stored in its component storages and automatically taped, the right-and-left guide members that guide the component holder can be moved individually to a plurality of particular positions corresponding to the widths of various component holders on the support member for these members. One of those particular positions corresponding to the widths of the particular component holders involved case by case is selected, and the right-and-left guide members are positioned and held with respect to positioning portions provided at the particular positions by the positioning and holding device.
By doing so, the right-and-left guide members can be fixed with simplicity and correctly to positions matching the particular component holder involved. At the same time, one of the right-and-left sprockets of the conveyor device that is conveyed in engagement with the right-and-left portions of the component holder is moved in linkage with the corresponding one of the right-and-left guide members by the linkage device, thus being positioned correctly at the positions matching the width of the component holder involved. Therefore, the component holder can be guided and conveyed with high precision, so that occurrence of misstorage or mis-holding of components can be prevented from taking place due to unstable guidance or conveyance of the component holder. Moreover, the right-and-left guide members have no relation to each other and are of such a simple structure as to be only linked with the sprockets on their corresponding side of the conveyor device. Thus, the apparatus cost is reduced as compared with the conventional apparatus.
The component taping apparatus may further comprise: the feed reel for reeling out and feeding the component holder to the conveyor device; the wind-up reel for winding up the taped components which are conveyed up by the conveyor device and which have been stored in the component storages, each of the feed reel and the wind-up reel having the reel flange that can be moved axially on the rotating shaft; and the reel flange-positioning device for elastically engaging the reel flange in the plurality of particular positions corresponding to the widths of the component holders involved case by case and thereby engagedly fixing the reel flange. In this case, the feed reel and windup reel can also be instantaneously moved correctly to their required positions, by selecting the elastic engaging positions of the reel flange-positioning device provided at particular positions corresponding to the widths of various types of component storages on their rotating shafts, by virtue of alight movement against the elastic engaging force of the reel flange-positioning device as well as the sound and feeling at the time of an elastic engagement of the reel flange positioning device.